Richard E. Moore of Charlottesville Circuit Court ordered to City of Charlottesville to remove the tarps over the statues of Gens. Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson covered since last August’s violent clashes between white nationalists and counter-protesters. The City had shrouded the statues as a court case over their removal drags on. “The harm to defendants from removing the tarps and not being able to shield them until the matter goes to trial is outweighed by the harm to plaintiffs and the general public in not being able to view or enjoy them,” Judge Moore wrote.
New York Times>August 20, 2017: Is History Erased When Monuments Come Down?
August 15, 2017: President Trump Asks If Washington and Jefferson Monuments Are Next Targets
In a combative news conference on Monday, President Trump addressed the deadly protests in Charlottesville and commented on the removal of Confederate symbols. “So this week, it is Robert E. Lee. I noticed that Stonewall Jackson is coming down. I wonder, is it George Washington next week? And is it Thomas Jefferson the week after? You know, you really do have to ask yourself, where does it stop?,” Trump stated. Thursday Trump tweeted that he was “sad” to see the monuments go.
New York Times>Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments. You…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 17, 2017
August 16, 2017: Baltimore Takes Down 4 Monuments to Confederacy
Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh, after City Council approval, ordered crews to cart away the Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson monument, the Confederate Soldiers and Sailors monument, and the Roger B. Taney Monument. The city had been studying the issue since 2015.
New York Times>Witnessed a Confederate monument being taken down tonight. Ashamed that I didn’t even know it was there. pic.twitter.com/WWNoYNl3Eu
— Mike Kulnich (@FlyingDogMK) August 16, 2017
August 15, 2017: Protestors in Durham, North Carolina Take Down Statue Honoring Confederate Soldiers
In response to the violence in Charlottesville and inaction by the city on Confederate symbols, protestors climbed a statue commemorating “THE BOYS WHO WORE THE GRAY” pulling it down from its pedestal up front of the county courthouse. “For some, the meaning of the moment was immediately clear. “All those years, black people had to go to court, walk past this sign, and think you were going to get justice?” Tia Hall said,” reports David A. Graham in The Atlantic. The police later began to arrest protestors, and the Democratic Governor, Gov. Roy Cooper, promised to look into legal means of removing such monuments after the passage of a 2015 state law banning their removal without state approval.
The Atlantic> New York Times>August 15, 2017: Robert E. Lee Memorial in Brooklyn On Way Out
A memorial plaque in St. John’s Episcopal Church in Fort Hamilton which reads, “This Tree Was Planted by General Robert Edward Lee While Stationed at Fort Hamilton from 1842 to 1847. The Tree Has Been Restored and This Tablet Placed Upon It by the New York Chapter United Daughters of the Confederacy. April 1912.” to be taken down in aftermath of Charlottesville violence.
New York Post>August 14, 2017: States Reconsider Confederate Monuments
A New York Times report looks at state efforts from Tennessee to Florida to take down symbols of the country’s Confederate past. An interative map shows what is happening where
New York Times> New York Times>June 19, 2017: National Trust for Historic Preservation Confronts Difficult Confederate History
A statement from National Trust for Historic Preservation President Stephanie Meeks addresses the balance of preserving history and removing its markers. “These Confederate monuments are historically significant and essential to understanding a critical period of our nation’s history. Just as many of them do not reflect, and are in fact abhorrent to, our values as a diverse and inclusive nation. We cannot and should not erase our history. But we also want our public monuments, on public land and supported by public funding, to uphold our public values,” she writes.
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